Tomato Cheddar Soup

by Beth on December 4, 2008

Last winter, I fell in love with a tomato cheddar soup at Au Bon Pain. The soup was quite simple, but it was tasty. I figured that it would be easily enough to replicate, so I set out in search of a recipe. I ultimately settled on one from the website for Whole Foods Market, and altered it to fit my tastes. It’s worth noting that the tomato cheddar soup recipe currently displayed on their site is different than the one that I altered last winter.

Using some canned ingredients makes this a quick weeknight meal that can be easily made in 30 minutes or less. Since I dislike the texture of tomatoes, I often use a can of pureed tomatoes in place of the diced tomatoes. The resulting soup has the same flavor, but a smoother consistency. The original recipe did not contain any seasoning other than salt and pepper, so I added a healthy amount of dried basil and oregano. The soup still tastes good without the spices, but it’s rather bland. In an effort to make this soup even healthier, I use reduced fat/reduced sodium chicken broth and reduced fat shredded cheddar.

The resulting tomato cheddar soup is thick and warm and flavorful – the perfect accompaniment to a slice of crusty bread. If you’re looking for comfort food, serve it with a grilled cheese sandwich!